BicycleSpokesman.com

Biking, Smoking and Texting

spokesman — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:00:01 +0000

At least, he stopped pedaling while responding to the text message.

DC Tri Club Brick-nic

spokesman — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:08:38 +0000

The DC Tri Club held a Brick-nic (a workout consisting of a bike ride and a run, followed by a picnic) this past Saturday. There were 2 bike routes, each of about 25 miles and then a 6 mile run. With the Nation’s Triathlon less than 1 month away, it was perfect timing for the event. Approximately 80 tri-athletes were there. Congrats to DC Tri for hosting a great event and thanks to all of the volunteers who made it possible.

Briefing the Club Before The Ride

Riders Getting Ready To Roll

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Old People Crossing

spokesman — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:41:33 +0000

I’ve seen many signs on my bike rides, but this was a new one - Old People Crossing

The Lanterne Rouge

spokesman — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:58:22 +0000

The Lanterne Rouge refers to the rider who finishes last in the Tour De France. The term Lanterne Rouge translates to Red Lantern and is derived from the red lantern that was placed on the cabose of a train. The engineer would look at the light from the engine to make sure that no cars had come uncoupled.

This year the Lanterne Rouge was Adriano Malori. He finished 4 hours 27 mins and 3 seconds behind the Alberto Contador.

197 cyclists began the tour and 170 finished. Finishing is a major achievement. You must finish within the time limit each day or you can be eliminated.

Years ago, the riders from the Tour De France would race in criteriums all over France after the tour. Tour finishers were paided to participate in these criteriums and it was a large part of their earnings. In those days, the Laterne Rouge would often be invited to particpate in these criteriums and would be a celebrity. Despite finishing last in the Tour, the Laterne Rouge is still a very strong cyclist. Adriano Malori was the Time Trial World Champion for riders under 23 years old. He completed the queen stage of this year’s tour over the Col Du Tourmalet at more than 19 miles per hour. If you ever met him on the road, you wouldn’t be able to hang on his wheel for more than 30 seconds.

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Radio Shack - Opportunity Lost

spokesman — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:35:19 +0000

Radio Shack spent a significant amount of money to sponsor a professional cycling team, but I don’t think that they maximized the advertising benefit of it during the Tour De France. There was very little tie in with their stores. The picture below shows a Radio Shack near my house during the Tour. There was no indication of their cycling team or the Tour De France. There are no posters that can be seen from outside the store. They should have had a contest related to the tour so they could drive traffic into the stores and get e-mails of potential customers. While they did have an ad campaign featuring Lance Armstrong as their “chief mobility officer” they could have done much more. As a minimum, they could have sold yellow Livestrong wrist bands at the stores.

Radio Shack Store with nothing related to the Tour De France

Sunglass Hut Store with large Lance Armstrong displays

A company that did a better job is Sunglass Hut. As can be seen from the above photo, they had large Lance Armstrong posters and a display of Livestrong frames that could easily be seen from outside the store. The posters and display were set up during the tour to draw people into the store. Radio Shack could learn a few things from Sunglass Hut.

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